Why It Matters: Washington’s wolf population is growing, creating complex management challenges that impact sportsmen, ranchers, and the public alike. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) holds a seat on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Wolf Advisory Group (WAG), ensuring that the sportsmen’s voice helps shape wolf management policies that balance predator recovery with healthy prey populations and livestock protection.
Highlights:
- The WAG, a diverse citizen panel, advises on WDFW’s wolf management, including the Wolf-Livestock Interaction Protocol, which was tested in August 2025 when the Sherman Pack met criteria for lethal removal
- Wolf management in Washington is complicated by dual federal and state listing statuses, requiring adaptive strategies as populations expand.
- CSF advocates for sportsmen’s priorities, such as maintaining robust game populations, in WAG discussions.
Washington’s wolf management is at a critical juncture as populations grow and disperse, prompting ongoing reviews of state listing status and long-term strategies. The WAG, established by WDFW, brings together ranchers, hunters, environmentalists and other stakeholders to address these challenges collaboratively. CSF’s active role ensures sportsmen’s perspectives, particularly the need to balance wolf recovery with healthy ungulate populations, are a vital component of these discussions.
A key tool in managing wolf-livestock conflicts is WDFW’s Wolf-Livestock Interaction Protocol, developed with WAG input in 2017 and revised in 2020. The protocol outlines criteria for lethal removal in the state’s eastern third, where wolves are federally delisted but remain state-listed. Removal is considered if a pack is confirmed responsible for three livestock depredations in 30 days or four in 10 months. This approach aims to disrupt pack behavior and prevent habituation to livestock as prey.
In August 2025, the protocol was put to the test when the Sherman Wolf Pack in northeastern Washington met the lethal removal threshold. During the WAG’s quarterly meeting in Clarkston on August 27, 2025, WDFW announced the removal of a non-breeding female from the pack, intensifying discussions among attendees. The meeting, attended by diverse stakeholders, focused on balancing wolf conservation with the economic realities of livestock producers and the interests of hunters reliant on healthy ungulate populations.
Despite some heated debates, the WAG identified key priorities for the next two-year cycle, including:
- Adapting to state budget cuts for conflict mitigation programs.
- Refining protocol implementations for the 2026 grazing season.
- Enhancing public outreach to foster transparency and community engagement.
- Planning for “post-delisting” management as wolf populations grow and disperse across the state.
As Washington’s wolves continue to expand, CSF remains committed to ensuring sportsmen’s voices are heard in shaping adaptive, science-based management plans that support both wildlife conservation and the state’s hunting heritage.
